(September 16, 1859-June 6, 1916)
Name is also spelled Yuan Shikai
Fought in the Sino-Japanese War
Recalled to Peking shortly before the Japanese main invasion
Led the Ching Dynasty's modernized army
Helped fight the Boxer Rebellion
Dismissed by regent Pu-Feng after the death of the Ching emperor
Made Prime Minister under Emperor Puyi
Proclaimed himself Emperor (1915)
Became President of China
Abdicated because of opposition from all sides (1916)
Died of kidney failure

He forced Sun Yat-Sen to cede him the presidency of China (because he controlled the old Ching army). If this had not happened, China might have been a democracy today.
When Sun's party, the KMT, won overwhelmingly in the country's first elections, he had several of Sun's deputies assassinated and dissolved the legislature.
He frequently switched sides between political factions in the Ching court.
He made himself emperor.

His slow action during the Chinese Revolution of 1911 helped end China's monarchy.
The forces under his command fragmented upon his death, allowing Sun Yat-Sen's army to partially restore the Republic until 1949.

Credit: Wang

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